The real Capt. Phillips gets hero's welcome in Vermont

WILLISTON, Vt. (AP) — The captain of the American cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates four years ago has returned home from sea to another hero's welcome. This time it was for a sneak peak of the Tom Hanks movie about the brutal ordeal.

"Captain Phillips" got an early screening in Richard Phillips' home state of Vermont on Tuesday night ahead of its national release in theaters on Oct. 11.

Hanks plays Phillips in Paul Greengrass' docudrama adapted from the captain's memoir about the April 2009 attack. Hanks met several times with Phillips at his home in Underhill in northwestern Vermont to prepare for the role.

Phillips spent five days as a hostage of Somali pirates on a lifeboat after the Maersk (mersk) Alabama was hijacked. He was rescued by U.S. Navy SEALs who shot three of the pirates.